Truth, Ahimsa or Non-violence, love,
brahmacharya or chastity, non stealing, non-possession,
fearlessness, removal of untouchability, bread labour, tolerance,
humility and so on were the eleven vows put forward and practiced as
principal Ashram observances which Gandhi prescribed for a true
Satyagrahi and for every person to practice.

During his incarceration in 1930 in
the Yervada Central Prison, Pune (India), Gandhi wrote weekly
letters to the Satyagraha Ashram, containing an explanation of the
eleven vows as Ashram influences had already travelled beyond its
geographical limits.

These letters were written in
Gujarati. There was a demand for translation into Hindi and other
Indian languages and also into English. Shri. Valji Desai has
translated the letters into English.

Gandhi, in this book attempts to put
forward the concepts and practices to be adopted as principal Ashram
observances in the context of truth, ahimsa or love, chastity,
control of the palate, non-stealing, non-possession or poverty,
fearlessness, removal of untouchability, bread labour, tolerance,
humility, importance of vows, yajna or sacrifice and swadeshi.

His writings about such fundamental
questions are as relevant to modern and western readers as they were
to their original audiences, i.e the inmates of Satyagraha Ashram.
Gandhi’s founding of swadeshi, a principle of commitment to local
economic activity with roots in ancient India, strikes an important
contemporary chord as the world moves towards gobalisation.